Campus Monitor - San Francisco State University

Student Voices

February 22, 2018 – SFSU Jewish Students (Hillel Students’ Letter to President Wong) – “As some students expressed, two years ago, they listened to you express similar upset about students’ fears of publicly identifying as Jewish on campus. They listened to you then promise action. Some are now close to graduation and are dismayed that things are worse, not better…You stated that to change the campus environment for the Jewish community, courage would be needed from you and your staff. We hope that you find this courage by recalling the courage that we, as students, display every day walking onto a campus that has been complicit in allowing hate and discrimination against our community to go unaddressed.” Read More

February 12, 2018 – SFSU Jewish Faculty Members (Marc Dollinger and Fred Astren) – “Our greatest concern remains the physical safety of Jewish students on campus…Jewish members of the SFSU community do not bear responsibility for ensuring a safe physical and intellectual climate on campus. Our administration does.” Read More

January 31, 2018 – SFSU Jewish Student (Liam) – “The atmosphere on campus is beyond difficult or upsetting, it has evolved into something frightening and ugly. I hope that this [legal] case not only legitimizes the concerns of my friends and peers at SFSU, but also inspires other students who have been excluded or silenced to reclaim their own voices, and take action to protect their civil rights.” Read more

August 30, 2017 – SFSU Jewish Student (Jacob) – “There were definitely times where … I avoided (the Malcolm X Plaza), take alternate routes around campus … to avoid the center of campus because I knew that I was publically identifiable as a Jewish student and president of the Jewish Student Union. I was very concerned for my safety.” Read more

June 19, 2017 – SFSU Jewish Recent Graduate (Jacob) – “I didn’t have the right to speak on my own campus; I felt afraid as a Jewish student…the administration was actively working against me. … I felt really powerless.” Read more

May 3, 2017 – SFSU Jewish Student & Hillel Student President (Sasha) – “Students have felt unsafe and the administration has done nothing to counter this. We had one statement from President Wong supporting us, and since then he has claimed none of these things are presidential issues….[an example of institutional antisemitism is the] lack of response to our group specifically. Every time, we have to beg [Wong] to acknowledge that something happened to Hillel students.”” Read more

April 5, 2017 – SFSU Hillel student president (Sasha) – [In a letter to President Wong concerning the President’s conduct regarding a second visit of Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat] “I, along with many other students, will be at the event. However, we are opposed to the president’s [President Wong’s] conduct and the lack of student involvement in bringing the mayor back. If you have a clear vision for creating a welcoming and inclusive climate for Jewish students on this campus, we want to understand what it is. Because, unfortunately, your actions are actively undermining Jewish student life, and enabling an environment causing actual discrimination against Jewish students.” Read more

SFSU Jewish Student Alumni (Kayla) – “When I went to university, I was exposed to this anti-Israel bias, “ she recalled. “I was very confused and taken aback. Being a Jew, I was often confronted and targeted as a baby killer. Everything from anti-Israel to anti-Semitic, I heard it all. I had a Jewish identity but I was trying to find my connection. I started to learn more about Israel.” Read more

April 8, 2016 – SFSU Attendee at a Jewish Event on campus (Aaron) – “…But, in a decision that should deeply disturb all who value a civil society, and one that I as a Jew find profoundly demoralizing, the police were instructed not to remove the disruptors and instead to stand by and watch the event be completely shut down. Please let that sink in. Public university administrators and police stood and watched as the Mayor of Jerusalem, the Jewish student organization that sponsored him, and all of us in attendance, were permanently bullied off the stage. …it would seem the spectacle was intended to send a message to campus Jews. Don’t invite Israeli dignitaries. They aren’t welcome. We won’t protect you, and we will humiliate you, your guests, and the Jewish community if you do. If this was the intended message, it was received.” Read more

May 2014, Hillel at SFSU Recounts Jewish Students in Tears – “A large group of pro-Palestinians entered the campus quad and held a counter-rally [to the Jewish students’ Israel Independence Day event]. They were extremely vocal and their chants extreme…it became very tense. [M]any [recanted] afterward…how intimidating it had been. A few [Jewish] students left in tears.” Read more

Antisemitism Tracker

Total Antisemitic Activity:

To see more information on how AMCHA determines antisemitic activity, click HERE.To report a concern, click HERE.

Classification

Date-Description

TARGETING JEWISH STUDENTS AND STAFF:

DISCRIMINATION; DEMONIZATION; DELEGITIMIZATION

3/2/18 – The Women and Gender Studies Department issued a statement that delegitimized Zionism and demonized Israel, saying, “On February 23rd, President Wong of San Francisco State University sent an email to the entire campus community. In his statement, Wong apologizes for the hurt feelings of Jewish students—represented in his email by a about a dozen student members of Hillel—and emphasizes that “Zionists are welcome” on the campus of SF State. The Women and Gender Studies Department is deeply concerned about the motivation, tenor, and potential effects of this statement…Zionism is not equivalent to Jewishness; anti-Zionism is not anti-semitism. Zionism is a political ideology that supports the state of Israel. It does not represent all Jewish people–nor does Hillel represent all Jewish students. Wong’s statement fails to express concern or support for Palestinian, Arab, and Middle Eastern students and their allies that are harmed by Zionism. We are concerned that such material support for Zionist discourse, evidenced in this statement and previous actions by the university president, outweighs concern for the whole of our campus community…The history and contemporary discourse of racialized gender and sexuality for Jewish people in Zionism is a site of debate and political protest today–especially as the Israeli state’s project of “pinkwashing” is decried by queer activists internationally…feminists are…pointing out how Zionism targets women and families in broader projects of racialized population control. This, among other histories of feminist debate, show that Zionism as a political ideology needs to be up for debate at minimum. In sum, the Department of Women and Gender Studies unequivocally rejects the equation of Zionism with Judaism, and stands by all of our SFSU students and their right to a university committed to intellectual inquiry and social justice.”

DISCRIMINATION; DENIGRATION; DEMONIZATION

2/27/18 – The Black Student Union, African Studies Association, Black Residents United in Housing, and Black Business Student Association wrote a “solidarity statement” expressing, “[W]e are disappointed in and ashamed of our University President, Leslie Wong, for condoning Zionist actions by not only allowing them but welcoming them on campus…To support Palestine is to combat tyranny, totalitarianism, racism, xenophobia, terrorism, colonialism, and state sanctioned violence….Leslie Wong has welcomed terrorism to our campus and has remained an ally to Zionist groups long before releasing a statement that boldly stated that Zionists are welcome on our campus…We are holding Wong responsible for his actions of catering to Zionist groups…”

DISCRIMINATION; DENIGRATION; DEMONIZATION

2/27/18 – Students who claim to be “Jews Against zionism [sic]“ at SFSU wrote a solidarity statement to President Wong, stating, “People who identify with zionism [sic] support a regime that is responsible for the genocide of Palestinian people and many other communities around the world…For Palestinian, other Arab, Muslim, and Jewish anti-zionist students and faculty, welcoming zionists onto campus is a signal that SFSU supports the white supremacy of colonialism and ethnic cleansing.” The students further wrote a statement for “GUPS and SFSU community members targeted by zionists and white supremacist attacks,” which said, “We are here for you. We stand in solidarity…with the movement to fight Colonialism and White Supremacy, and with our fellow students and SFSU community that is fighting for a just and relevant education. zionism [sic] IS NOT welcome on our campus. White Supremacy IS NOT welcome on our campus. We as Jewish [anti-Zionist] students promise to support the creation of a campus…that refuses to let the zionist community interfere with our inalienable right to education and safety.”

DISCRIMINATION; DENIGRATION; DEMONIZATION; DELEGITIMIZATION

2/23/18 – AMED at SFSU shared a post by Professor Abdulhadi that denigrated Zionists on campus and demonized and delegitimized Israel, stating, “I consider the statement below from President Wong, welcoming Zionists to campus, equating Jewishness with Zionism, and giving Hillel ownership of campus Jewishness… to be a declaration of war against Arabs, Muslims, Palestinians …[and against those opposed to] Israel’s colonialism, racism and occupation –the inherent character of Zionism…it is embarrassing to have our campus leadership cater to donor pressures and the Israeli lobby.”

DISCRIMINATION; DENIGRATION; DEMONIZATION

2/23/18 – Chalk writing on SFSU’s campus targeted Zionists for exclusion, stating, “Zionists Not Welcome” and demonized Zionism stating, “Zionism = Racism.” The statements appeared on campus in the main quad in reaction to President Wong’s campus-wide email apologizing to the Jewish community for his past expressions that had excluded Zionists and reiterating, “Let me be clear: Zionists are welcome on our campus.” The same day, also in response to Wong’s email, GUPS issued a statement to the campus community claiming, “Zionism is the violent ideology responsible for the genocide and displacement of indigenous Palestinians and the destruction of Palestinian land. In 1948, Zionist militias destroyed over 500 Palestinian villages and exiled over 750,000 Palestinians from their homeland in order to establish the Zionist settler colonial State of Israel. Zionism is responsible for creating the largest refugee population in the world who have yet to return to Palestine.” This was followed the next day by a Facebook post to GUPS supporters claiming, “Wong does not have the right to speak on behalf of an entire community while welcoming racist and colonial ideology on a college campus that is meant to educate students. Zionism is not welcome at SFSU or in any space where justice, freedom, and liberation are our goals. We stand united on the front lines of achieving liberation and justice in and for Palestine, academic freedom, and a campus free of hate, Zionism, and White supremacy.”

SUPPRESSION OF SPEECH/ MOVEMENT/ ASSEMBLY

2/28/17 – Event organizers of an information fair on human rights called “Know Your Rights,” at which GUPS was one of the organizers, secretly changed the registration cut-off date in order to exclude Hillel from participating. After being approved for the event, Hillel then received an email saying, “Dear community organizer, thank you for your interest. We are at capacity.” While at the event however, Hillel was told there were “plenty of tables.” According to an expose in Jweekly, “days earlier, the event’s organizing committee, with S.F. State personnel looking on, had quietly moved the goal posts, arbitrarily cutting off registration for the express purpose of excluding Hillel.”

INTIMIDATION

5/10/16 – A student filed a bias report and a police report alleging that he had been physically targeted on campus by a GUPS student in the month following Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat’s appearance on campus. The student wrote, “He was either trying to provoke a physical confrontation or just flat‐out intimidate me. He did not say anything. I decided to walk away, but I feared for my safety at the time and afterwards.”

4/6/16 – GUPS members and other protesters disrupted a Hillel event involving a speech by Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat where a few minutes into the speech, about two dozen protesters , with the intent of shutting down the event, entered and loudly shouted, ““Get the hell off our campus!”…Long live the Intifada…Intifada, Intifada…From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will be Free.” They succeeded in stopping the event due to the loud disruptions that occured for about an hour in a very clear willful, material and substantial disruption. Also during the disruption, Jweekly reported on protestors telling a Hillel staffer, “We don’t want you on this campus,” to which the Hiller staffer responded, “We’re part of this campus.”

2/7/18 – AMED held the event, “Palestine at SFSU Teach-In.” During the event, multiple panelists engaged in antisemitic expression throughout. Two panelists accusing Israel of “ethnic cleansing.” Support for BDS was constant, with one panelist explaining, “They know it worked against the racist regime in South Africa. They are afraid it will work against the racist regime in Israel.” Another panelist further demonized Israel, remarking that Israel engages in “greenwashing about water technology [and] pinkwashing about how wonderful Israel is to LGBTQ individuals in Israel compared to the neighborhood.” A panelist claimed that an SFSU student was investigated “all for just making stupid jokes on the internet,” neglecting to mention those “stupid jokes” involved death threats against Jewish and Israeli students on campus. Multiple panelists invoked historical tropes of Jewish control while expressing discontent with perceived Zionist influences in academia, with one stating, “…and it’s not only one person, just so people don’t get confused that we are talking about a Jewish person. It is not one person. It is a…complicity of power. It is a joint participation within and outside and the university administration very much part of it because they are part of it they are not outside of it.” Another claimed, “The one uniform thing here is overreach. Zionist overreach,” and a different panelist remarked, “The administration…were totally and completely under the power of outside Zionist organizations,” with a final panelist remarking, “The Zionist agenda…it’s really important when you talk about ways that academia is being targeted by Zionists, it’s not just within the academic setting…” One panelist additionally stated, “My work — I do critical studies of feminist Zionism — [has] taken me into a historical study of especially the way Zionist played a role in demobilizing social movements in this country and in producing fractures among coalitions for racial justice and what a determining role actually this power has really had.”

DENYING JEWS SELF-DETERMINATION; DEMONIZATION

4/25/17 – GUPS held the event “GUPS Nakba Commemoration.” The photo accompanying the event promotion said, “1948, Never forget, Never forgive” with additional promotional text that falsely accused Israel of ethnic cleansing and of being “a terrorist state.” A photograph of the event showed signs accusing Israel of ethnic cleansing and calling for the right of return, which would effectively eliminate Israel as a Jewish country.

DEMONIZATION; DELEGITIMIZATION

3/29/2017 – GUPS held an event as part of Palestine Awareness Week titled “Political Discussion and Film Screening.” A large banner at the event read, “Zionism is Racism.”

DEMONIZATION; DELEGITIMIZATION

3/10/17 – GUPS held the event “Israeli Policies in Relation to the Trump Era.” The description for the event demonized and delegitimized Israel, stating, “Since the settler colonial project of Israel was established as a state in 1948, the Israel government has used ‘security’ as a pretext to further oppressive and racist policies and practices against the Palestinians. This include[s]… building an Apartheid Wall…a racist ID system… and torture, resulting in the policing, and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.” This event was co-sponsored by the Palestinian Youth Movement and AROC: Arab Resource & Organizing Center

DEMONIZATION; DELEGITIMIZATION

9/26/16 – GUPS SFSU held a demonizing and delegitimizing event on campus to commemorate, “one of the hundreds of massacres committed on the Palestinian people: Sabra and Shatila.” A Facebook post about the event explained that GUPS SFSU accuses Israel of “ongoing genocide” and stressed, “we hold the United States and Israel [responsible] for the continue repressions among our communities from police killing black and brown men and women to the Assad regime slaughtering Syrians. If we were to commemorate every massacre in Palestinian history, having an event every single day of the year would still not be enough. Today was about showing that we will not forget what was done to our people in September of 1982, nor 2016.” Images from the event showed signs saying, “Ethnic Cleansing since 1948” and “End Settler-Colonialism.”

DELEGITIMIZATION

5/5/16 – In a formal statement that GUPS published in support of SFSU Ethnic Studies, they referred to Israel as a “settler colonial state”

DEMONIZATION; DELEGITIMIZATION

5/5/16 – In a statement published in Mondoweis explaining why they protested a talk by the Jerusalem mayor at SFSU, GUPS students falsely accused Israel of “apartheid” and “racism”.

DEMONIZATION; DELEGITIMIZATION

5/4/16 – AMED held the event, “May Day 2016: Work under colonialism and the politics of solidarity in Palestine & USA” with Susan Chen, Alborz Ghandehari, Isaac Ontiveros, Michael Ritter, Jaime Veve, and Professor Rabab Abdulhadi. During the event, Ontiveros demonized and delegitimized Israel, stating, “What is the role of labor in fighting Israeli occupation, apartheid, racism, colonialism… The conditions of labor for Palestinian people are conditions of occupation, militarism, apartheid, colonialism and I would say genocide as well…” and further kept referring to the state as “the so-called state of Israel.” Abdulhadi demonized Zionism, stating, “…the Zionist movement slogan was Judaize land and labor basically take over all Palestinian land and kick Palestinian workers off their land.”

4/20/16 – AMED sponsored an event on campus entitled, “From Oakland to Palestine: A Delegation, Prisons, Repression and Resistance” where the majority of speakers engaged in antisemitic remarks. Panelists included Emory Douglas, Diana Block, Anna Henry, Rachel Herzing, Manuel La Fontaine, Claude Marks, Isaac Ontiveros, Jaime Veve, Nathaniel Moore and Michael Ritter. The event was moderated by Professor Rabab Abdulhadi. In his talk, Claude Marks demonized Israel with accusations that it is a country of colonialism, violence, sadism and genocide, including stating that genocide is normalized. Moderator Rabab Abdulhadi denied Jews self-determination by supporting the right to return which would eliminate Israel as a Jewish country stating, “Israel does not want the Palestinians to practice the right of return because to them the Palestinians…[have to be] erased and completely gotten rid of”. Diana Block demonized Israel as a Zionist, apartheid, land confiscating, terrorist state and additionally called for BDS. Isaac Ontiveros denied Jews self-determination saying that Israel practiced, “extremely violent orders of all different types into Palestine…into the historical 1948 territories that the State of Israel calls the State of Israel at this point” and further delegitimized and demonized Israel through accusations of “Israeli colonialism, settler colonialism, of apartheid, and the genocidal process…systematically [and] sadistically, to bring to bear the most technologically advanced methodology to do that…” Anna Henry delegitimized Israel by referring to Israel as the “so-called state of Israel”. Nathaniel Moore and Jaime Veve delegitimized Israel with defining remarks of colonialism and “a settler colonial project”. Manuel La Fontaine likened Jews to Nazis with a reference to Israelis as “Neo-Nazi”.

4/12/16 – As part of the National SJP’s tour, “Right 2 Education,” speakers came and spoke at SFSU, co-sponsored by AMED. During the event, speakers alluded to historical antisemitic tropes of Jewish power and control stating, “We all know that they have the money, they have the power” and media are “paid voices.” Speakers condoned terrorism saying that knife attacks and rock throwing is part of a right to resist to “bring attention.” Speakers made comparisons of Jews to Nazis or European antisemites stating, “This type of trauma was not only present in Europe, it’s also the same tactics that they still use today….It’s the same thing with Zionism, still use their atrocities that happened to their people to further support for injustice” and that Israeli Jews are not making the connection that they are doing to others what was done to them. Speakers additionally denied Jews self-determination saying Jews, “fabricate our history to make it look like they have a right to exist in our country” and referencing the result of “dissolv[ing] the state of Israel. Because the state of Israel was built to be a racist state.” Demonizing statements were prevalent throughout including accusing Israel of ethnic cleansing, executions, of wanting to attack whole communities, taking children away because they want to, that it is “their [Israelis] passion, to suppress us, to cease our right to exist,” and that it is, “a hunt for them, a game, a Hunger Game for them.” Finally, Speakers also delegitimized Israel referring to Israel as a “neosettler colonial power that’s inside of Palestine” and made numerous calls for BDS.

3/16/16 – AMED held the event, “Decolonizing Feminisms: Grounding Gender, Sexual and Gender Justice (Women’s Herstory Month)” with Dr. Rabab Abdulhadi, College of Ethnic Studies and Alisa Bierria, Associate Director of the Center for Race and Gender UC Berkeley. During the event, the focus of both participants revolved around BDS and intersectionality. During her talk, Abdulhadi further demonized with statements such as, “But it was not only white supremacy that was the hegemonic corrector of the feminist academy, but for our purposes it was also Zionism in the women’s movement” as well as saying that an individual mentioned was, “no dumb Zionist”. Bierria additionally demonized Israel by reading a statement that accused Israel of “one sided slaughter…massacre” and saying Israel is “killing children, thousands of children [and calling it] a defensive act”. Remarks in the Q & A section by audience members additionally denied Jews self-determination with statements calling for the right of return, which would effectively eliminate Israel as a Jewish state, as well as that the “anti-pinkwashing movement needs to re-center [around] the dismantling of Zionism”.

2/29/16 – The Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas Initiative (AMED), which is under the College of Ethnic Studies, co-hosted an event with GUPS entitled, “GUPS 101 Series: Palestine with Dr. Abdulhadi”. During her talk, Abdulhadi denied Jewish self-determination by advocating for a one-state, which would eliminate Israel as a Jewish state as well as stating, “There can be peace only If Israel is defeated”. She further demonized Israel stating “Zionism is racism”, accusing Israel of ethnic cleansing and claiming, “Israelis can come every single night, and they do, and rape people and harass people and take them and blow up homes every single day.” Abdulhadi delegitimized Israel calling it “settler colonialism” and saying Israel “is taking more land, what they call settlements, but actually it’s [all of Israel is] all settlements.” She additionally called for BDS.

DEMONIZATION

2/17/16 – AMED sponsored the event, “Day of Remembrance 2016 Criminalizing Communities, Building Solidarities: Arabs, Asians and Muslims – Then and Now – Enemy Alien Film Screening and Discussion” with Reverend Michael Yoshii, Grace Shimizu, Professors Rabab Abudlhadi and Wesley Ueunten. During the roundtable discussion, Reverend Yoshii demonized Israel, claiming that “training is going on with police, militarization is going on with police, based on the notion we have to control people. Where is all this coming from? Israel. Where is the resource going on from all the militarization at the border and police? Israel is the research and development source of all the resources for police and militarization…As far as Palestine goes we’ve gotten worse…and they’ve [Israel] had a license to use the Palestinians as guinea pigs for research and development on militarization…and they’ve been able to parlay that economically.” Abdulhadi further referenced a group called “Who Profits,” that claims, “Israel needs to go into war every 4 or 5 years because if they don’t they can’t advertise their tanks and etc…and say ‘tested in battle’…[it’s] pure economics.”

10/15/15 – An announcement of a demonstration in front of the Israeli Consulate on the SFSU GUPS Facebook page stated: “General Union of Palestine Students (GUPS SFSU) supports the uprisings in Palestine! We Stand with our Brothers and Sisters in the streets, and we will find victory!…End to the Zionist State! End to the killings of our Men, Women and Children in cold blood! End to the colonist empire!”

DELEGITIMIZATION

9/21/15 – GUPS held a “die-in” in honor of “the fallen of Syria and Palestine” in Malcolm X Plaza, and at least one student held a sign that contained a large Jewish star with the words “End Settler Colonialism” superimposed on it.

DELEGITIMIZATION

4/17/15 – GUPS advertised their Israeli Apartheid Week event with the words “Join us in cross-cultural resistance against apartheid” and accused the Israeli military of terrorism.

May 5, 2016: J Weekly – opinions | S.F. State and a teachable moment (Description note, “When I spoke with our Jewish students I heard repeated concerns about the climate on our campus. Their experiences, and the experiences of other student groups, reveal a large gap between S.F. State’s institutional values and the lived experiences of many of our students. One cannot learn in the context of fear, nor can learning prosper without exposure to the world of ideas. The Hillel event signaled that we have much to learn in this regard. But we will get better. I am committed to that goal.”)

April 14, 2016:J Weekly – editorial | Intimidating Jewish students is not ‘free speech’ (Description note, “And the kind of bullying that has been increasing on our college campuses, especially in the Bay Area, targets one group: Jewish students, who are seen as representatives of Israel, proxies for the actions and policies of the country’s government and military. As such, they are considered fair game for insults, slurs, public humiliation and intimidation…It’s not a slippery slope. It’s a leap off a cliff, straight down. The University of California regents took an important step last month when they approved a resolution against intolerance. It states, among other things, that “anti-Semitic forms of anti-Zionism” will not be tolerated on any U.C. campus. That correctly distinguishes between political protest and hate speech. As detailed in our story this week, Jewish student groups are trying to pass a similar resolution at Stanford.”)

April 8, 2016: The Times of Israel – Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat in San Francisco (Description note, “…But, in a decision that should deeply disturb all who value a civil society, and one that I as a Jew find profoundly demoralizing, the police were instructed not to remove the disruptors and instead to stand by and watch the event be completely shut down. Please let that sink in. Public university administrators and police stood and watched as the Mayor of Jerusalem, the Jewish student organization that sponsored him, and all of us in attendance, were permanently bullied off the stage. …it would seem the spectacle was intended to send a message to campus Jews. Don’t invite Israeli dignitaries. They aren’t welcome. We won’t protect you, and we will humiliate you, your guests, and the Jewish community if you do. If this was the intended message, it was received.”)

April 8, 2016: Fire – San Francisco State Student Protesters Disrupt Speech by Jerusalem Mayor (Description note, “President Wong pledged a “full investigation of this incident to determine if any violations of campus policy occurred.” Judging from the videos, this is not a difficult question. SFSU quite clearly prohibits the “[w]illful, material and substantial disruption or obstruction of a University-related activity,” which would presumably include indoor speeches hosted by student groups. It could not be credibly argued that almost an hour of continuous chanting was not intended to disrupt Barkat’s speech. In fact, that’s exactly what happened. Without a right to listen to another person speak, the right to free speech is a hollow promise, subject to the heckler’s veto.”)

April 7, 2016: SF State News – Message from President Wong: Civil Discourse (Description note, “Nir Barkat, Mayor of Jerusalem was invited to speak yesterday on campus by SF Hillel, a student organization. The Mayor’s talk, held at Seven Hills, was disrupted by a small but loud group of protesters. Members of our community who attended the event were deprived of an opportunity to hear from the Mayor…While there is a right to dissent, we must also uphold the right to speak and to learn.”)

April 7, 2016: Golden Gate Express – General Union of Palestine Students Storm Meeting With Jerusalem Mayor (Description note, “GUPS was joined by members of the Black Student Union, the League of Filipino Students, and Defend and Advance Ethnic Studies. The crowd of about 40 students quickly took up chants, clapping, waving Palestinian flags and thrusting their fists in the air.”)

February 23, 2016: Golden Gate Xpress – Vassar Through the Eyes of a Non-Jewish Zionist Professor (Description note, “The General Union of Palestine Students came together at Malcom X Plaza Tuesday afternoon in a demonstration of solidarity with Palestinian journalist Mohammed Al-Qeeq, who is being imprisoned without charges by the Israeli government and is currently on a hunger strike…GUPS rallied at the plaza and marched to the College of Ethnic Studies in opposition to potential loss of funding.”)

November 7, 2015: Golden Gate Xpress – General Union of Palestine Students Honor Edward Said Mural Anniversary (Description note, “”SF State’s General Union of Palestine Students and Associated Students, Inc. honored English and comparative literature professor, author and Palestine nation advocate Edward Said Thursday. “Edward Said is a genius, essentially,” said GUPS general member Lubna Morrar. “I view him on the same level as Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and Angela Davis, as a person who was fighting for Palestinian people. The eighth-annual Edward Said Mural Celebration was held at noon in the Malcolm X Plaza and continued with a ceremonial banquet in Jack Adams Hall at 6 p.m. The mural has been the center of controversy and criticism since its inception, with some arguing that it promotes anti-Semitism, according to a 2013 story from the Golden Gate Xpress.”)

October 14, 2015: During a USA speaking tour across college campuses, Bassem Tamimi posts a blood libel message on Facebook that included a photo of a boy with stitches across his torso, along with the message: “When Israelis arrest Palestinian CHILDREN, what is the purpose? To STEAL THEIR ORGANS. The same #Zionists doing this control the #media.”

September 30, 2015: EVENT – Bassem Tamimi: Our Destiny is to Resist (Quotes from Tamimi during the event: “[supporting our cause] is your duty because we became the victims of the victims when the international community served the results of the holocaust. For that we are responsible for the problem and responsible for the solution as well.” “We need you, we need your struggle, we need you to go after your belief. We can’t continue if we see that nobody cares. It will push us to have more than ISIS in the region, because Israel is more worse than ISIS.” “The zionists occupied the Jewish suffering and the Jewish religion to use it for their own interests.” “The image of the Israeli in my mind is a settler or soldier destroying my land and killing my uncle or cousin.” “The Israeli society is sick because they are occupied by the zionist thought. They took the holocaust from the humanitarian level and they make it into ethnicity. They can’t see the suffering of others because they think that those who suffer less than their suffering, it is not suffering.”)

May 8, 2015: EVENT – Palestine: It’s Time To Go HOME! (Description note, “GUPS will be commemorating those who were internally and externally displaced as a result of the 1948 Zionist war on the Palestinians and their land. The memory of the catastrophe of 1948 is personal and communal in character. An Estimated 700,000 Palestinians were expelled and over 500 towns and villages were destroyed. For over six decades, Palestinians have been fighting for the right of return, but we are longer asking, we are demanding!”)

April 21, 2015: Golden Gate Xpress – Palestinian community gather in rally of Israeli Apartheid Week (Description note, “A mock wall stood at the entrance of Malcolm X Plaza between the stage and the Cesar Chavez Student Center as a simulation of the barrier in West Bank in Israel to draw attention to the current affairs on that side of the world.)The General Union of Palestine Students hosted a rally to commemorate Israeli Apartheid Week April 17. The rally at SF State is part of a series of international events to draw attention to the global and political policies the state of Israel holds against Palestinians, according to GUPS president Lubna Morrar.”)

April 7, 2015: The Elder of Ziyon – SFSU partnering with terror supporting An Najah University (Mike Lumish) (Description note, “The ADL has this to say about An-Najah National University: …Today the student council of An-Najah is known for its advocacy of anti-Israel violence and its recruitment of Palestinian college students into terrorist groups. The council, almost completely controlled by factions loyal to Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Fatah, glorifies suicide bombings and propagandizes for jihad against Israel. Hamas has described An-Najah as a “greenhouse for martyrs.”… The truth is that Jewish parents should feel confident sending their kids to SFSU, because the chances of actual anti-Semitic violence are low. As long as the kid keeps his head down, does not in any way stand up for the Jewish people or the Jewish state of Israel, he or she should be just fine.”)

March 11, 2015: Golden Gate Xpress – Campus Community Responds to Anti-Semitic Title (Description note: “Astren, who has taught at SF State for 19 years, said past incidents between Palestinian and Jewish students may have been considered anti-Semitic, but he believes the administration has been receptive and reactive in order to fix those issues.”)

August 16, 2014: EVENT- Block The Boat for Gaza! (Description note -SJP at UC Berkeley, SJP at Stanford and GUPS at SFSU are all involved. Text includes – “Stop Israel at the Port. Zionism isn’t welcome on our Coast! West Coast Blockade of the Israeli Zim Ship. Port of Oakland. STOP THE SIEGE ON GAZA! END THE COLONIAL OCCUPATION OF PALESTINE! RIGHT OF RETURN FOR ALL PALESTINIAN REFUGEES! FREE ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS! BOYCOTT, DIVEST, SANCTION!.. We should always remember that the Palestinian resistance did not begin with Israel’s latest bombardment, nor did it begin during the last bombardment. It has been going on since 1948, since Israel came into existence. And it will not cease until Israeli apartheid falls. We refuse to allow Israel to conduct its business as usual, here in the Bay and everywhere!” Every Saturday, the Israeli owned Zim shipping line docks and unloads its cargo at the Port of Oakland. Let this action be the beginning of a sustained campaign to stop the Israeli ship from ever unloading in our town. From Seattle to Oakland to Los Angeles – turn the Israeli ship around! We encourage all of our allies on the West Coast to join us in ensuring that Zim ships are not welcome anywhere.”)

Photo Album - Campus Antisemitism

GUPS SFSU held a demonizing and delegitimizing event on campus to commemorate, “one of the hundreds of massacres committed on the Palestinian people: Sabra and Shatila.” A Facebook post about the event explained that GUPS SFSU accuses Israel of “ongoing genocide” and stressed, “we hold the United States and Israel [responsible] for the continue repressions among our communities from police killing black and brown men and women to the Assad regime slaughtering Syrians. If we were to commemorate every massacre in Palestinian history, having an event every single day of the year would still not be enough. Today was about showing that we will not forget what was done to our people in September of 1982, nor 2016.” Images from the event showed signs saying, “Ethnic Cleansing since 1948” and “End Settler-Colonialism.” Source credit: GUPS SFSU Facebook Page (September 26, 2016)

“The Mayor of Jerusalem, Nir Barkat, tried to give a speech at San Francisco State University, April 6, 2016, but was shouted down and constantly interrupted by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). SJP is linked to Hamas, which to some, SJP is known as Hamas on Campus. ” (April 6, 2016)